


Support

by DeadmanDairyland



Series: Danganronpa Fan Month 2016 [4]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Depictions of Bullying, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-10
Updated: 2018-12-10
Packaged: 2019-09-15 22:36:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16942011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeadmanDairyland/pseuds/DeadmanDairyland
Summary: Chihiro had a rough childhood. Now that he's an adult, he wants to help others going through similar situations.





	Support

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was originally posted on Tumblr on July 24, 2016, for Danganronpa Fan Month 2016.
> 
> This one is much more depressing than the other fics I wrote for DR Fan Month. It was around this time I was watching Assassination Classroom and I saw a post about ijime, which I kind of had a vague awareness of beforehand, but the post opened my eyes up more on what kind of characters Chihiro and Jataro are and what they had gone through. Even if these are exaggerated examples, I feel they both serve as excellent criticism of horrible truths, much like what Assassination Classroom and series like Persona do. But again... it's still something that I, an American, know very little about, having never experienced it myself, so I can never be close to sure I know what that stuff is like. But it gave me a greater appreciation for characters I already liked to begin with, so I'm glad I stumbled across it.
> 
> But yeah, this one's pretty dark, so... keep that in mind and stay safe.

Taichi stood outside the school, waiting for his child. The students were already pouring out of the school, and he knew Chihiro would probably be one of the last people to leave to avoid the rush, but he was always there for the final ringing of the Westminster Quarters.

He was always happy to see his son emerge from the doors of the school, but he often frowned as well. The light of his life grew dimmer every day it seemed, and like any loving parent he hoped that it would not go out soon.

Tears started to form in his eyes when he noticed the light bruising and the disheveled clothes. He could only imagine how this could have happened. Normally it was verbal, not that that was any better.

“Hey, buddy. Let’s go home,” he said, taking Chihiro’s hand. Chihiro did not even look at him. It broke Taichi’s heart.

They did not say a word to each other for the entire trip home. When they got there, Chihiro went straight to his room. He grabbed a stuffed bunny off the bed.

_“Hey there, girly-boy!”_  he remembered a classmate saying.  _“If you want me to stop bothering you, why not_ man _up and stand up for yourself like a_ real _man would? Or are you too much of a_ girl _to do that?”_

For once, Chihiro had actually tried to summon the strength to stand up for himself. A lot of good that did him.

Chihiro sat against the wall and held the stuffed bunny tight. He cried into the plush toy, seeing it as the only thing keeping him safe. “Why are they doing this?” he asked no one. “What’s wrong with me?” he asked himself.

He heard a knock on his door.

“Chihiro?” Taichi asked from the other side. “Are you okay?”

“…I’m fine, Papa,” Chihiro lied. He did not want his father to worry about him. It would be disgraceful.

Taichi sighed. He wished there was more he could do, but it appeared his son was another victim of ijime,an ugly force of nature if a social phenomenon could be called one.

“Listen,” Taichi said. “I can’t possibly know what you’re feeling right now. But always remember, Chihiro, your mother and I love you very much and we are  _so_  proud of you.”

Chihiro looked up from his toy to the door. How could they be proud of him? He was a disgrace to his family. At least that was how he viewed himself. And it was how society obviously wanted him to feel too. But it was still comforting to hear those words. If nothing else, what mattered to him most was making his father proud. If he was already doing that, maybe things would be okay in the long run.

Taichi waited silently by the door for a while before turning to walk away. As he started to leave, however, the door opened. Taichi had little time to react as Chihiro bolted out of it, arms extended and quickly wrapping around his father’s waist.

“Th-thank you, Papa.” Chihiro cried, sobbing into his father’s shirt. “I love you.”

Taichi smiled as best he could, and embraced his only child. “I love you too, Chihiro.”

 

* * *

 

 

Chihiro walked through the park with some of his friends and fellow graduates from Hope’s Peak Academy. It was not often they were able to get Chihiro outside, and he was not looking forward to it either, but he was enjoying just being around other people who appreciated him.

“What a great day it is today!” Taka exclaimed loudly, to Chihiro’s amusement and the others’ annoyance. “Not a cloud in the sky! How marvelous!”

“Did we have to bring him along?” Leon asked.

“Did we have to bring  _you_  along?” Mondo raised a fist towards Leon.

Makoto turned his head to look at Mondo and Leon. “Guys, please don’t fight. It’s not often that so many of us get to hang out at the same time. Let’s try to get along, okay?”

Mondo took a deep breath as he tried to hide the fact that he was holding his fist back with his other hand. “Chihiro, tell your boyfriend to mind his own damn business.”

Before Chihiro could say anything, Taka spoke up. “I agree with Naegi’s sentiment, Bro. Please don’t cause trouble on my account.”

“Yeah, the last thing I want to see today is one of us ending up in the hospital over a stupid argument,” Hina added. Sakura nodded in agreement.

“…Fine,” Mondo forced out, finally conceding. Leon sighed with relief, and immediately looked around to make sure no one saw him do that.

Makoto smiled and elbowed Chihiro. “Dodged a bullet there, didn’t we?” he asked. When Chihiro did not react, Makoto turned to look at him. “Chihiro?”

He saw Chihiro’s attention was focused on something else: a group of teenagers surrounding and insulting an adolescent boy wearing a leather mask.

Makoto frowned and gave Chihiro an empathetic look. “Are you alright, Chi?”

Chihiro ignored him and walked toward the group.

“What the hell is he doing?” Mondo asked.

One of the teenagers noticed Chihiro walking up to them and got the others’ attention. Chihiro had a stern look on his face.

“Everything alright here?” he asked. How he was acting surprised even him. Where did this confidence come from? Was it because he was older? Was it because he had friends? Either way, it seemed to be working, and the teenagers started to back off.

Actually, they were terrified of the people with Chihiro. Namely a delinquent biker gang leader and a martial artist with massive muscles. But Chihiro did not know that.

“Yeah, everything’s fine,” one of the teens said. “We were just leaving. Come on, guys.” The teenagers walked away, leaving their target alone.

When they were gone, Chihiro turned back to the boy. “Are you alright?”

The boy would not look up from his sketch pad. Chihiro started to notice the torn sheets of sketch paper scattered around the place. He picked one up and examined it.

“Wow, you’re really good at drawing,” Chihiro complimented.

The boy sulked in sadness. “Please don’t say that. It’s awful. Everything I do is awful. Like when birds poop on people’s heads. I am that poop.”

“…What is  _up_  with this kid?” Mondo asked. The others shot him a look. “What? What did I say?”

Chihiro held a supportive hand out for the boy. “Hey, I think your art is pretty great. Don’t let people tell you otherwise, okay? Just keep doing what you enjoy, and someday people will appreciate you for it. I promise.”

The boy was confused. Why was this person being nice to him? He could not understand it. “Owwww, my head!” he cried, grasping his head with both hands. “It hurts!”

“Did they hurt you?” Chihiro asked, concerned.

“No… headache… ow…”

Makoto stepped in. “Maybe we should try to find his par–”

“NO!”

The friends were startled by the boy’s reaction. The boy shrunk and shivered. “I mean… uh… c-could you take me to the police station instead?”

Chihiro and his friends looked at each other, wondering what they should do. After a brief moment of consideration, Chihiro nodded. “Sure. But we’re not taking you anywhere else, okay?”

“Yeah, I wasn’t planning on receiving any kidnapping charges today,” Leon added, and was promptly elbowed in the side by Hina.

“Well, Kuwata has a point,” Taka added. “But I don’t see the harm in taking him to a police station. It is our duty as upstanding citizens to make sure he gets to a safe environment safely.”

The boy attempted to smile. “Thank you. B-but if you don’t m-mind me asking, why are you helping m-me?”

Chihiro smiled back. “Well… I can’t say I was ever in your position, exactly,” he said, deducing that the boy’s home life was less than stellar, “but I’ve been bullied like that before. It’s horrible. No one should have to go through that.” He held out his hand again. “My name is Chihiro, by the way. What’s yours?”

The boy hesitated for a moment, but he eventually held his hand out and allowed Chihiro to hold it. “Jataro.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Jataro,” Chihiro said warmly, and the Hope’s Peak graduates escorted the boy to the police station.

**Author's Note:**

> The theme for this fic was Childhood/Adulthood.


End file.
